Sotomayor apology
Definition
The public statement issued by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on April 15, 2026, regretting her 'hurtful comments' about colleague Justice Brett Kavanaugh's privileged background during a speech critiquing his immigration opinion.
A rare public mea culpa from a Supreme Court justice, highlighting tensions over an immigration case where Sotomayor implied Kavanaugh lacked insight into hourly workers' lives.
Examples
The Sotomayor apology landed like a perfectly timed recess, diffusing the drama after her spicy take on Kavanaugh's suburban worldview.
In the Supreme Court's endless plot twists, the Sotomayor apology was the sequel nobody expected to her Bronx-versus-Bethesda zinger.
Admirers called the Sotomayor apology a beacon of collegiality, tactfully overlooking the original shade about who gets hourly wages.
With the finesse of a dissenting opinion, the Sotomayor apology turned personal critique into a masterclass in judicial backpedaling.